Man Kills Neighbor Over 40 Cent Loosie Cigarette

He got smoked over a mere 40 cents. A Bronx man was convicted Wednesday of shooting his neighbor to death in a dispute over a âloosieâ cigarette.

Lamont Jones, 45, purchased a single cigarette in 2013 from his neighbor Ibushio Sealey â and owed him 40 cents for it, according to prosecutors.

But the two men feuded over the debt even after Jones paid Sealey, 35, his money.

The dispute over the loosie turned deadly on Aug. 26 when Jones shot Sealey five times â including four shots to his back â inside their building on Andrews Ave. near W. 183rd St. in the Bronxâs University Heights section.

âThe senselessness of this crime is incomprehensible,â said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. âThe victim and defendant had been arguing about the defendantâs delay in paying the 40 cents he owed for a loose cigarette, and a petty matter led to the murder of one man and a possible life sentence for another.â

Jones, following a two-week trial, was found guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, prosecutors said.

Authorities said Sealey was shot inside his own front door shortly before midnight. Sealey was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Officials said the cigarette had cost a total of 80 cents â and that the two men had been arguing back and forth over the balance.

Authorities did not reveal the brand of cigarette that led to the shooting.

A neighbor described Sealey as a quiet man who kept to himself.

âHe was a very nice man and caring person,â another neighbor wrote on Facebook. âAlways smiling and greeting people, he did not deserve for this to happen to him.â

Jones faces 25 years to life in prison for the murder and up to 15 years on the weapon charge. He is slated to be sentenced May 10.

In a similar case in April 2014, a Brooklyn man claimed an argument over cigarettes sparked a fight with the friend he stabbed to death. Prosecutors say Joshua Simser, 26, cut Rufino Sanchez 29 times in the face neck, arms, chest and back for taking his smokes.